District Assessments, 2022-23
Over the course of a school year, families receive a variety of information to give them a more complete picture of their child’s academic progress. In addition to report cards and class assignments, SFUSD uses District Assessments to help families better understand their child’s strengths and opportunities for improvement in Reading and Math. Families can use this information to partner with your child’s teacher to blend learning at school with support at home.
What are the District Assessments?
The Kindergarten Readiness Inventory (KRI) The KRI is administered at the beginning of Kindergarten. The KRI includes readiness measures of literacy, social-emotional learning, fine motor, and numeracy. You can your child's teacher can use this information to identify students' strengths and needs as they begin their school careers.
The Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) Benchmark Reading Assessments (Grades TK-2) are administered at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. F&P assessments provide information regarding your child's growth in reading from letters, to words and texts. You and your child's teacher can use this information to monitor and support your child's progress in reading.
The Reading Inventory (grades 3-HS) provides information about your child’s performance in reading during this school year. With this information, teachers match your child with the appropriate books, design and plan instruction for all learners. This assessment is taken online in about 20-30 minutes.
Math Milestone (grades K-5 & HS) and Entry Tasks (grade 6-8) are opportunities for your child to show their learning and explain their thinking as they solve a series of math problems. Students work on paper or digitally, depending on their grade level and the requirements of each assessment. Milestone and Entry Tasks are generally administered during class time and take 30-60 minutes to complete.
Milestone Tasks are given at the end of a unit of instruction to assess the learning of that unit. Entry Tasks are given prior to the start of a unit to assess prerequisite learning. This enables teachers to modify the instruction of the upcoming unit to meet student needs.
When are the District Assessments administered?
Your child will take the Reading Inventory (Grades 3-10) and the Math Milestone Task (Grades K-High School) twice a year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring.
Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessments (Grades TK-2) are administered at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.
Kindergarten Readiness Inventory (Grade K) is administered once a year in September.
When will I receive my child’s District Assessment results, and how are they used?
District Assessment reports are provided to families via ParentVue in mid-November and early March, to align with Parent/Teacher Conference weeks. These results are an important source of information for all students, families, teachers, and staff to get an accurate picture of student learning. Using these results:
- Students can reflect on their own learning and goals.
- Families can support their child at home with their goals.
- Teachers provide feedback to students and inform their future instruction.
- District staff can improve District planning and supports.
Links to Sample Student Reports and Performance Level Descriptors:
- Sample Student Reports (includes all translations)
- Performance Level Descriptors (includes all translations)
Families can learn more about the F&P Foundational Skills & Reading Assessments using the following:
F&P Foundational Skills Family Guide
Families can learn more about the Reading Inventory and how to support their children at home by reading the following document:
Reading Inventory for Families
The results of these assessments are not used for admissions purposes for any SFUSD high schools. Results are used by parents and families to monitor and support students' learning.
How can I best support my child for the District Assessment administration?
Here are some ways that families can support students with the District Assessments:
Before
- Teachers may share areas of strength or need they see in your child.
- Partner with your child's teacher to leverage areas of strength in addressing areas of need at home.
During
- Each student will complete the assessment independently.
- Teachers will monitor students to address issues of technology or directions that could affect student performance.
After
- Partner with your child’s teacher about the results of the test to better understand what you can do to support your child’s learning at home.
Resources for Families
Families can reference these SFUSD webpages for resources to help children in their learning journey:
How do parents interpret the Math Entry Task results for grades 6-8?
A Math Entry Task assesses what strengths and knowledge your child is prepared to use during the upcoming unit. Because students will not yet have engaged in the standards assessed during class, they are not expected to score at or above grade level (a score of 3 or 4). The scores indicate to parents how prepared students are to engage with the upcoming content. A score of 3 indicates that a student is well-prepared to learn the grade-level standards; a score of 2 indicates that a student is ready to learn the grade-level standards; a score of 1 indicates that the teacher will need to investigate further and support the student's learning more carefully; and a score of 4 indicates that a student has a good understanding and will benefit from deeper learning. Parents can support students in their learning of the content. By reviewing subsequent assessment results, such as the Math Milestone Task, parents can observe their child’s growth over the course of the unit.
This page was last updated on October 3, 2022